Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving
Amber R. Muniz
Kaplan University

Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving A cell phone wielding driver weaving in and out of traffic and drifting across lanes, because they are completely distracted by the device in their hand, may be all too familiar. When using a cell phone while driving, it impairs the persons driving abilities as much as a person with a 0.08 blood alcohol level. Think of the drivers that you pass daily; how many were using cell phones? Imagine if all of those drivers were drinking instead of using their cell phones behind the wheel. Cell phone use while driving is dangerous because it causes slower response time and reduces the situational awareness of the driver. The best solution to this issue is to ban the use of cell phones while driving.

“Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death in the United States for 3 to 34 year olds. Crashes are among the top three causes of death throughout a person’s lifetime. They also are the number one cause of work-related death. Annually, more U.S. soldiers are killed in crashes in privately-owned vehicles than all other Army ground accidents combined” (National Safety Council, 2010) Distracted drivers using cell phones cause about 2,600 traffic fatalities and 330,000 accidents every year (Richtel, 2009). Many drivers talk, text, and respond to their e-mails while trying to drive. People that use cell phone while driving are not aware of their surroundings. Many drivers have swerved into other lanes, run red lights, or had close calls due to using a cell phone while driving. Motor vehicle crashes often occur at intersections because these are the locations where two or more roads cross each other and activities such as turning left, crossing over, and turning right have the potential for conflicts resulting in crashes. Many studies show that drivers, who are using cell phones, are four times as likely to cause an accident as other drivers who are not using a cell phone.

Many drivers overestimate their own ability to safely multitask, even when they worry about the dangers of other drivers doing it. Studies have shown that engaging in a secondary task like driving while using a cell phone disrupts your driving performance. The human brain does not perform two tasks at the same time. The brain switches between one task and another very rapidly. Not only does the brain process tasks, but it also processes focus and attention. When tasks such as driving and talking on a cell phone important information is not processed by the brain such as failing to see a red light. A study was conducted at the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging in Pittsburgh that used brain imaging and came to a conclusion that when driving and listening to a cell phone, activity in the parietal lobe, which is the portion of the brain associated with driving, was reduced by 37 percent (Just, Keller, and Cynkar, 2008). Studies have shown that simply listening to a cell phone while driving can cause drivers to commit errors as if they were under the influence of alcohol.

Many people believe that if using a cell phone while driving is considered a dangerous distraction; then other distractions should be considered dangerous such as eating, talking to another passenger, and trying to put on makeup while driving. Others think that if cell phones should be banned because it causes distractions while driving that everything else that can cause distractions should be banned as well. This would mean that all drivers would have to be the only ones in the vehicle when driving, which would not work out very well. These are all a type of distractions when driving, but ever since cell phones were being used the number of accidents and fatalities have greatly increased each year. Cell phones have become important to everyone’s social life, and many people have to have it to keep up with what is new in their demanding social lives. There have always been other activities that have been labeled as being distracting when driving ever since the invention of automobiles.

Some people believe that when you are issued a driver’s license that the Department of Transportation is giving you the responsibility to drive safely, so they should be able to choose if they want to use a cell phone while driving no matter how dangerous it can be. In other words these people believe that they should have the choice to be able to do anything they please to do while driving. It has been proven that this epidemic on using cell phones while driving is not safe. Just like drinking and driving is not safe and illegal. We have laws such as this to prevent accidents and keep our communities safe.

Many people believe that cellphone bans while driving are simply not enforceable. Currently there are cell phone bans on all military bases and also in some school zones. There has not been a problem in enforcing the ban in these locations, so why would it be difficult to enforce the ban in other locations? Detecting a driver using a cell phone would be easier than trying to detect whether the driver is or has been drinking because it is obvious that the driver is looking at or has the cell phone held up to their ear. Punishments for violating this ban could be driver's license restrictions, fines, mandatory attendance of defensive driver's education classes, community service, or probation.

Cell phones have rapidly become part of the daily lives of millions of people. Many of people talk, text, and respond to e-mails while trying to drive. All of these actions reduce the driver’s situational awareness sine they would have to take their eyes off of the road to look at their cell phone. Many drivers have swerved into other lanes, run red lights, or had close calls all due to using a cell phone while driving. Using cell phones while driving is very dangerous not only to the drivers but also to the people around them. The only way to keep our streets safe is to ban the use of cell phones while driving and make our vehicles a no phone zone.

What did you learn about yourself as a writer? As a thinker?
What did you learn about the process of writing?
What skills did you develop that might help you in the future?
What did you take from the larger conversation with others?
How did your feedback from peers and your instructor affect the revision of your blueprint, letter to the editor, and presentation?
I have learned that as a writer I like to use facts and statistics, and I am a technical thinker. In this class I have learned to come up with a general plan to help map out what you will be writing about. I will use everything that I have learned in this class it was all very interesting and useful information that will help me in my writing in the future. According to others I tend to put a lot of information that is backed up from a creditable source. I also have found out that I leave out some commas and other small grammar errors.

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor, Think of the drivers that you pass daily and how many were using cell phones. Using a cell phone while driving impairs your driving abilities as much as someone who is driving drunk with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent. Imagine if all of those drivers were drinking instead of using their cell phones behind the wheel. Cell phones have rapidly become part of our daily lives. Many people try to talk, text, and respond to their e-mails while driving. Distracted drivers using cell phones cause about 2,600 traffic fatalities and 330,000 accidents every year (Richtel, 2009). Using a cell phone while driving causes the driver to have a slower response time and it also reduces their situational awareness. This is very dangerous not only to the driver but also to the people around them. The only way to keep our streets safe is to ban the use of cell phones while driving.
Thank you,

Amber Muniz

Part I: Pre-Interview Worksheet

|Interviewer Name |Amber R. Muniz |
|Interviewee Name |Marcel A. Just |
| |Director, Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging |
|Interview Method |Interview will be conducted via e-mail |
|Interview Location |Location will not be needed. |Have you seen the location yet? |
| | |X Not applicable |
|Interviewee Research |
| |
|I have selected to interview Marcel A. Just because he studies the human brain and how it functions. Marcel A. Just has conducted a study that|
|used brain imaging while listening to a cell phone when driving. According to his research your brain activity goes down by 37 percent when |
|talking on a cell phone while driving (Just, N.D.). |
|Interview Topic Research |
| |
|I have read several articles about the dangers of using a cell phone while driving. This is currently a big issue on our streets today and it |
|causes many traffic accidents. I know that when using a cell phone while driving, the driver is not aware of their surroundings and has a |
|slower response time than when not using a cell phone. |
|Primary Questions |
| |
|Closed: |
|1. Do you believe banning cell phone use will reduce the number of traffic accidents? |
|2. Will bans have more of an impact on young drivers? |
|3. Will such bans improve the public’s safety on roads? |
|Open: |
|1. How does the human brain process talking on a cell phone while driving? |
|2. How is using a cell phone while driving like driving while under the influence of alcohol? |
|3. What do you believe is the best way to enforce banning cell phone use? |
|Reasoning Behind Asking These Questions |
| |
| |
|I would like to know his view on banning cell phone use while driving, If he thinks it would be affective and help make our streets safer |
|while driving. Since he is a credible source that has conducted research on the functions of the human brain. I would like to see evidence |
|behind the claims of how the human brain cannot function properly when trying to drive and carry a conversation on a cell phone. I believe |
|this information will make my argument more compelling. |
|Anticipated Responses to Questions |
| |
|Since I will be conducting the interview by e-mail, I will not be able to read his body language or facial expressions. |
|Secondary Questions |
| |
|1. Do you believe that having a conversation with a passenger while driving is as distracting as using a cell phone while driving? |
|2. Do you think that cell phone companies will be affected much if cell phone use while driving is banned? |
|3. What more research needs to be done to convince the public that using a cell phone while driving is dangerous? Do you think this can be |
|proven? |
| |
|References for Part I |
|Just Drive. (N.D.) Retrieved from http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/health/2009/winter/just-drive.shtml |
|Profile-Marcel Just. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.psy.cmu.edu/people/just.html |
|Marcel A. Just. (N.D.) Retrieved from http://www.psy.cmu.edu/faculty/just/ |

Part II: Three Secondary Sources Cell phones have rapidly become part of the daily lives of millions of people. Distracted drivers using cell phones cause about 2,600 traffic fatalities and 330,000 accidents every year (Richtel, 2009). Many drivers talk, text, and respond to their e-mails while trying to drive. People that use cell phone while driving are not aware of their surrounds. Many drivers have swerved into other lanes, ran red lights, or had really close calls all due to using a cell phone while driving. Using cell phones while driving is very dangerous not only to the drivers but also to the people around them. When using a cell phone while driving it extends the driver's reaction time as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of 0.08 percent (Novotney, 2009).

Many people believe that if using a cell phone while driving is considered a dangerous distraction so should eating while driving, talking to another passenger while driving, and trying to put on makeup while driving. Others think that if cell phones should be banned because it causes distractions while driving that everything else that can cause distractions should be banned as well. This would mean that all drivers would have to be the only ones in the vehicle when driving, which would not work out very well. Some think that when issued a driver’s licenses that they should have the option to choose to use a cell phone while driving (Knowles, 2000).

References
Cell phone Study Sparks Action. (ND) Retrieved from http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/health/2009/winter/just-drive.shtml

Just M., Keller T., and Cynkar J. (2008) Brain Research. Retrieved from http://www.distraction.gov/research/PDF-Files/carnegie-mellon.pdf
National Safety Council. (2010, March) Retrieved from http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distracted_Driving/Documents/Dstrct_Drvng_White_Paper_1_2011.pdf
Novotney, A. (2009, February) Dangerous Distraction. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/02/dangerous.aspx
Richtel, M. (2009, July 18) Drivers and Legislators Dismiss Cellphone Risks. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/technology/19distracted.html?pagewanted=all